Many of the inflation indexes reported by the government over the past few months have shown inflation is sticking around — maybe even accelerating. That’s a clear sign that businesses are continuing to deal with higher costs, thanks in part to President Trump’s tariffs.

But that sticky inflation is also a sign that many businesses can afford to keep raising prices, because their customers are willing to pay up. In other words, those businesses continue to wield a lot of pricing power.

Running a coffee shop has been expensive this year, said JoEllen Depakakibo, who owns Pinhole Coffee in San Francisco, California.

“Definitely in the last few months, I’ve seen the cost of coffee go up, matcha,” Depakakibo said. “The cost of chocolate went up significantly.”

Depakakibo said between the rising cost of wages, benefits, rent, and now tariffs, she had to raise her prices around 75 cents per drink a few months ago.

She arrived at that number by pulling up a spreadsheet: “When things change for us, it just calculates and inputs a new retail price that we should be doing,” Depakakibo said.

But costs aren’t the only things that go into setting prices. Depakakibo also factors in what her customers can handle.

“The neighborhood I’m in, which is Bernal Heights, it’s a pretty wealthy neighborhood, but it’s not only just wealthy people that live there too,” Depakakibo said. “So it’s kind of trying to figure out a balance.”

And so far, Depakakibo said that 75 cent price hike has gone over OK.

“We see the same people every day,” Depakakibo said. “So we know that they’re fine with it, because they still continue to come through.”

That ability to raise prices without driving away customers is a business’s pricing power. Put another way, it’s a reflection of consumer demand.

“If demand is stronger than typical, then you’ll have more pricing power, and if it’s weaker than typical, you’ll have less pricing power,” said George Pearkes, macro strategist with Bespoke Investment Group.

Pearkes said consumer spending has been holding up reasonably well over the last few months. 

“What we’re seeing is that the economy is performing much better than you would assume it was if you just talk to businesses or consumers, who are very dour and down about how they’re experiencing the economy,” Pearkes said. “But in terms of actual spending, things look much healthier.”

But Pearkes said it depends on the types of consumers we’re talking about.

“For wealthier consumers who own their home, and have large stock market exposure, times are really, really good,” Pearkes said. “That is going to feed through to spending from that asset-owning group of American households.”

That means pricing power is the strongest among businesses that cater to consumers with more disposable income and more assets.

“We’re getting more calls on luxury properties. And so we’re competing more in that arena,” said Jess Harrington. She owns Finessed Home Staging, a company in the Boston area that stages homes for sale with furniture, paint, and lighting.

Harrington said she’s raised her prices 20% over the last year. That’s allowed her to buy nicer furniture, hire more staff, and offer what she calls a higher quality service. She said that lets her target customers who are willing to pay more.

“There are people out there that really, really value what we do, and they would pay more than what we’re quoting,” Harrington said.

But pricing power isn’t nearly as strong among businesses that serve people lower down the income spectrum.

“People are telling you straight up, ‘this is great, but I can’t afford it. It’s too expensive,’” said Marcia St. Hilaire-Finn, who owns Bright Start Early Care and Preschool in Washington, D. C.

St. Hilaire-Finn said enrollment this fall has been the slowest on record. Parents are blaming the high cost of living. Many of them are dealing with government cutbacks.

“We’re in D.C.,” St. Hilaire-Finn said. “A lot of our families were federal government workers. And a few of them — one of the two lost their jobs.”

As a result, St. Hilaire-Finn is holding her prices steady. She’s even offering discounts for parents who sign up within the next month. She said she’s focused on trying to sell families on the benefits of her service.

“Your child is being engaged, developing their social skills, making relationships,” St. Hilaire-Finn said.

If enrollment picks up again, she said she might consider a price increase come spring.